The 2019 COMP Cams Shakedown Nationals were already going to be awesome. I was super looking forward to being there to call the action which will feature the best door slammers in the country running in various classes from the professional and sportsman levels. But then race organizer and Virginia Motorsports Park track general manager Tyler Crossnoe turned the awesome knob to 11. Yes, the long awaited showdown between Pro Mod racers and competitors in the insane Radial vs The World class is here!

A Friday night showdown will pit the best 8 RvW cars against the best 8 pro mods with $15,000 on the line for the winning team. This is brilliant, this is fun, this is drag racing how it should be. No holds barred, throat-ripping action.

DINWIDDIE, Va. (Aug. 24, 2019)– The heated debate between Pro Mod racers and Radial vs. the World (RVW) competitors will be settled during the Comp Cams Shakedown Nationals XVII, Sept. 19-21 at Virginia Motorsports Park. Race officials announced today a special Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgement Day shootout that will pit the eight best big-tire Pro Mods and eight best small-tire RVW cars in a best-5-of-8 showdown on Friday night.

“A couple months ago the internet started buzzing about how close the two classes are in ET and how cool it would be to see them side by side at a standalone event,” said Tyler Crossnoe, vice president of racing operations, Virginia Motorsports Park. “With Shakedown having both classes on the property with the right rules in place, it just made sense to do this one-off shootout under the lights.”

After one Thursday qualifying session and two Friday qualifying sessions, the top eight drivers in each class will be paired up via a chip draw for the Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgement Day. The No. 1 qualifiers will serve as the team captains and will pick the lane for their class. The quicker of the two low qualifiers will call the coin flip for lane choice. Each lane will be prepped accordingly.

The first team with five wins will get to split the $15,000 prize and each driver will get a trophy. The No. 9 qualifiers will be waiting in the staging lanes and will settle the score if a tiebreaker is needed.

“We were looking for a special element to add to the Shakedown Nationals as we bring it to Virginia Motorsports Park for the first time,” Crossnoe said. “The Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgement Day race is an exciting addition for the fans and an added incentive for our racers. We hope this shootout will help the Shakedown Nationals stand out from every other race.”

The $15,000 purse to be split among the winning Pro Mod vs. RVW Judgement Day teams is in addition to the purses for Saturday’s main event. MVM Motorsports Pro Mod pays $25,000 and Atomizer Fuel Systems/Pro Line Racing RVW pays $20,000 to the winners. The two classes are also presented by FuelTech USA and Mickey Thompson Tires.

Virginia Motorsports Park is a multi-purpose racing facility located just minutes away from Richmond in North Dinwiddie, Virginia. The drag strip hosts a variety of races, including the NHRA Virginia Nationals, two PDRA national events, an NHRA Lucas Oil Series divisional race, the Comp Cams Shakedown Natioanls and a local bracket racing points series. The dirt park holds a Monster Truck Throwdown event and the Mud Racers Association World Finals. Special events held at VMP include the Dinwiddie County Fair and Rugged Maniac obstacle course races. For more information on Virginia Motorsports Park, please visit http://www.virginiamotorsports.com/.

As I was reading this I kept wondering how they were going to prep the lanes as the prep for the two classes is quite different. According to the announcement it appears they are going to “prep each lane accordingly”. I presume by this that the lane the PM’s chose will receive normal prep and the other lane will get the RVW 55 gallons of spray per foot.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this race could be how each camp scrutinizes the track prep. This could make for some very entertaining drama. Hopefully Mr Lohnes will be on hand to report on this part of the action!

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